I don't think I have ever seen advertising for Aim toothpaste which is probably why no one sells it anymore, why would a supermarket give shelf space to a product they only might sell a handful off a month.

To get back to the toothpaste, I hope Aim doesn't disappear completely. I have tried others over the years. I prefer it for a reason. While it is true that shops have no obligation to please their customers, it is also true that customers have no obligation to spend their money with a business that treats them with arrogant dismissiveness. Some shops, mostly overseas, have learned this lesson and stock things they don't make money on for the sake of customer goodwill. Now that American businesses like Amazon are discovering New Zealand, maybe they will come in, do the same thing, and take over while New Zealand shopkeepers are left wondering what happened to their captive cash cows. If you want people to spend their money with you, it helps to try to accommodate them a little.

If the only toothpaste remaining to me is Colgate, I will return to baking soda. It works better than rats' brains.

The more this thread goes of the crazier it gets.

Everybody thinks the locally owned New World supermarket is evil and has dumped the product - yet there hasn't been a single piece of evidence posted to back this up. The evil big Australian company that makes Aim may have decided to remove it from the market. We simply don't know.

As for Amazon coming over and taking over I really do have to wonder if you really know what you're in for. Have you looked at Amazon's entry into the grocery market? It's through their own vary carefully controlled stores that stock the biggest and best selling products. It's acquisition of Wholefoods also targets a similar strategy. Amazon aren't dumb - they know what dead inventory doesn't make money so they sell what sells. That means a product such as Aim toothpaste is highly unlikely to be in their grocery stores.

Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately, AIM Original Toothpaste is no longer available in Christchurch. We are sorry for the inconvenience but it is the supermarkets who wield the power these days and decide what products they want to stock. If it were up to us, you would get our products available everywhere.

With our online website, we do not currently have international delivery option - it is only delivered within Australia. Please accept our sincerest apologies.

Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately, AIM Original Toothpaste is no longer available in Christchurch. We are sorry for the inconvenience but it is the supermarkets who wield the power these days and decide what products they want to stock. If it were up to us, you would get our products available everywhere. With our online website, we do not currently have international delivery option - it is only delivered within Australia. Please accept our sincerest apologies. Best Wishes, Deepti

Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately, AIM Original Toothpaste is no longer available in Christchurch. We are sorry for the inconvenience but it is the supermarkets who wield the power these days and decide what products they want to stock. If it were up to us, you would get our products available everywhere. With our online website, we do not currently have international delivery option - it is only delivered within Australia. Please accept our sincerest apologies. Best Wishes, Deepti

Do they have some kind of exclusive-distributorship contract with supermarkets in Chch? Otherwise, surely they're free to sell to any other distributor there? So, why aren't they marketing to alternative retailers like $2 shops or Uncle Bills or corner dairies or whatever?

My reading is that they've become fat and lazy, and dependent on the supermarket chains to be their marketing department. Maybe toothpaste manufacturers are like those little birds that live by cleaning crocodiles' teeth.